Multiple cartridge clip feeding mechanisms for automatic guns



April 15,1958 B. MAILLARD v$830,498

MULTIPLE CARTRIDGE CLIP FEEDING MECHANISMS FOR AUTOMATIC GUNS Filed Oct. 22 1954 l0 Sheets-Sheet IN VENTDR BERN/9190 fifllmfia,

\ Ql-hBQai ATTUHNEY v April 1958 B. MAILLARIS A 2,830,498

MULTIPLE CARTRIDGE CLIP FEEDING MECHANISMS FOR AUTOMATIC GUNS Filed Oct. 22, 1954 l l0 Sheets-Sh eei'. 2

INVENTDR ATTIDPIND" Apri 15; 1958 B. MAILLARDY MULTIPLE CARTRIDGE CLIP FEEDING MECHANISMS FOR AUTOMATIC GUNS l0 Sheets-sheaf. 5

Filed Oct. 22, 1954 A INVENTUR Qua Q BY h B ATTORNEY A ril 15 1958 B. MAILLARD 2,830,498

MULTIPLE CARTRIDGE CLIP FEEDING MECHANISMS FOR AUTOMATIC GUNS 1d Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 22, 1954 INVENTDR a e/veep xvi/4mm,

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21nd: ATTDHNE'Y April 15, 1958 B. MAILLARD MULTIPLE CARTRIDGE CLIP FEEDING MECHANISMS FOR AUTOMATIC GUNS Filed Oct. 22; 1954 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 R MB R N wgaw NN E E N N 1 1958 B. MAILLARD 2,830,498

MULTIPLE CARTRIDGE cup FEEDING MECHANISMS FOR AUTOMATIC GUNS Filed Oct. 22. 1954 1 1o She ets-Sheet e ATTORNEY APl'il15, 1953v BIMAILLARD I MULTIPLE CARTRIDGE CLIP FEEDING MECHANISMS FOR AUTOMATIC-GUNS Filed Oct. 22, 1954 1O Sheets-Sheet 7 ATTORNEY April 15 1958 a. MAILLARD MULTIPLE CARTRIDGE cup FEEDING MECHANISMS FOR AUTOMATIC suns Filed Oct. 22, 1%: 34

10 Sheets-Sheet. 8

r WWQ Y April 15, 1958 B. MAILLARD MULTIPLE CARTRIDGE CLIP FEEDING MECHANISMS FOR AUTOMATIC GUNS 1o Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Oct. 22, 1954 EzY W ATTDHNEY April 15, 1958 B. MAILLARD 2,830,498

MULTIPLE CARTRIDGE CLIP FEEDING MECHANISMS FOR AUTOMATIC GUNS Filed Oct. 22, 1954 7 1O Sheets-Sheet l0 uvvmma E1Y m4 B GM ATTDHNEY I MULTIPLE CARTRIDGE CLIP thereinto new clips providedwith their cartridge clip which is the first to befired ping or extractor device capableof successively catching r the cartridges of this clip and introducing suitable for feeding feeding me'c tive lines III III, IVIV, V-V

Figs. 14 and 15 are side views of rows FEEDING MECH- ANISMS FOR AU'FOMA'I IC GUNS Bernard Maillard, Gene va ,".Switzerl and, assignor to Brevets Aero-MebziniquesftGeneva, Switzerland, a

societyof Switzerland A r v v Applicationoctoberzz 1954, Serial No. 464,143 r t 15 Claims. rc xm ssy" Y The present invention relates to multiple cartridge. clip feeding mechanisms for automatic guns, the term multiple cartridge clip feeding any 1 feeding comprises,

mechanism designating mechanism for an .automatic gun which 3 On the one hand, a magazine in which are stacked upon each other severaldistinct and independent elements each constituted by a cartridges disposed side by side'jand carried by said holder plate and aplurality of plate (which elements tridge clips), dow through will hereinafterbe called carsaid magazine being provided with a win- .which it ispossible to fill it cartridges,

And, on the other hand, a mechanism forpassing the along a stripr them into the gun, the holder plate of said cartridge jclip, once it has Fig. 2 is a perspective view, with parts cut away, ofa rotor mechanism belonging to said feeding mechanisrnp. a modification of this mechanism being shown by Fig. 2

Figs; 3 to 6 inclusive arecross sections 'on the respecand VI.VI of Fig. 2. Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive are diagrammatical views illustrating the operation of a device for feeding the cartridge clips through the magazine.

- of Fig. 2.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view, with parts cut away, of the magazine as visible from the outside.

ed on the walls of saidmagazine.

by introducing perspective view, of a multiple cartridge" clip.

21 is an explanatory diagram.

The feedingrnechanism which is tobe described is in- 3 tended for an automatic gun of small caliber, that is to say. a caliber ranging from 20 mm. to 75 mm. for instance. T

Itwill be supposed, by way of example, that the automatic gun to be fed with ammunition includes, as shown by Fig. l, a barrel. 1 rigid at the rear thereof with a breech-casing 2, the Whole being mounted slidablein a.v fixed support 3 with the interpositionof buffer means A (not shown).

r :[The casing of magazine 4 is of a r responding to that of the stack of cartridge clips D D been stripped from its'cartridges, being replaced by the r 1.35 The object of my invention is to provide a feeding to the appended draw Fig. 12 is a cross sectional view on the line XII- X11 It will also be supposed, still by way of example, that the gun is of a type in which the introduction of the cartridges thereinto takes such a gun inc lude's, in a known fashion, On the'one hand, a magazine 4 in aplurality of cartridge clips D D etc.,

And, on the other hand, amechanism for ping device capable of successively strippingfrom said clip the cartridges it includes so as to breech-casing 2, said device beinghoused in a casing 5 which is .de'tachably fixed in magazine 4.

etc. i

as itwill be hereinafter supposed, a rectangular outline, the casing of magazine 4.is.given the general shape of a parallelepipedal box, andthis casing carries, near the end thereofwhere is located the first cartridge clip D to be fired, a side passage 6 for guiding said clip D when it is moved transversely away from the stack of cartridge.

.clips so as to pass through the cartridge stripping device, after which the'holder' plate of said clip is ejected.

Therefore, seen from the outside, the' whole of the feeding mechanism. is constituted by a parallelepipedal, is fixed the casing of stripping device 5, passage 6 forming a lateral projection blockA upon the bottom of which at the lower end of said block.

I will now explain how my feeding mechanism is mounted on the gun.

Preferably, the whole of this mechanism does not participate in the recoil movement of the gun with respect to supportS, For this purpose, advantageously, said mechanism is mounted in a detachable manner on a magazine carrier 7 slidable on the upper wall of breech casing 2 and fixed to support 3. As shown by Fig. 1, carrier 7 is fixed on. support 3 by means of a rear arm 8 secured to a cross member 9 supported by two brackets 10 rigid with support 3.

Thus, the feeding mechanism is located above the gun and preferably, as shown by Fig. 1, magazine 4 is offset laterally with respect to the gunand is inclined to of pawls-mountt Fig. 16 is a diagrammatical view illustrating another embodiment of the feeding mechanism according to.the invention. r n i Figs. 17 and 18 are respectively a cross section and a longitudinal section of a regulating device for use in connection with my feeding mechanism. 1 Figs. 19 and 20 are respectivelyan'end view. and a perspective view, with parts cut away, of a cartridge clip according to my invention. 1 v

the vertical so that guiding passage 6 is sloping downwardly.

Furthermore, advantageously, the plates of the car-,

tridge clips in the magazine are not disposed exactly in such manner that their the front and rear walls and left side walls thereof. 1

Thus, if the sidewalls of the magazine are, as above stated, notvertical but are steeply inclined with respect to the vertical plane passing through the axis of the gun,

the planes of the clip plates, while being at right angles to the front and rear walls of the magazine, make a small angle withthe right and left side walls of said magazine,

so that these planes make, with said vertical plane of Patented Apr. 15, 1958 place through an aperture provided in theupp'er face of breech-casing '2.

My multiplev cartridge clip feeding mechanism for which are stacked Pa he first cartridge clip D that is to be fired through a stripintroduce them into I general shape cor In particular, if the plates of said cartridge clips have,

planes are at right angles both toof the magazine and to the right 3 the axis of the gun, an angle greater than if said plates were at right angles to the side walls of the magazine. It will be understood that with such an arangement, despite the great inclination of the magazine, it is easier to insert the cartridge clips into the magazine, and said clips are more likely to be correctly superimposed to one another than if their direction was close to the vertical.

The filling window of magazine 4 is located in the upper side wall of said magazine (that is to say the right hand side wall on the drawings), this window being preferably dimensioned so as to extend over the whole face of said side wall whereby it is possible to introduce fresh cartridge clips into the magazine whatever be the degree of filling thereof.

Advantageously, the top end plate of the magazine is provided with an opening 11 (Fig. 1) through which it is possible to pass the arm in order to press down the last cartridge clip inserted in the magazine, so as to apply it closely upon the preceding clip.

Anyway, the weight of the cartridge clips facilitates their introduction into magazine 4 and also their downward movements through said magazine and their displacement through passage 6, the lateral ejection of the empty plates of said clips being also facilitated by the action of gravity.

On the other hand, the lateral location of magazine 4 on one side of the gun has the advantage of leaving the other side clear for observation of a target by the gunner.

I will now explain how the first cartridge clip to be fired, to wit D is moved through passage 6, after which I will explain how the other clips, to wit D D etc., are fed downward through magazine 4 once the cartridges of clip D; have been fired.

The movement of cartridge clip D through passage 6 is obtained by means of a device including rotor means actuated by the recoil of the gun.

As it will be more explicitly described hereinafter, every cartridge clip has an open face turned toward the gun. The rotor device therefore includes, as shown by Fig. 2, toothed wheels 13' capable of engaging successively all the cartridges of the clip substantially in the way in which a pinion engages the teeth of a rack. In the example illustrated by the drawing, there are three such wheels 13, and on Fig. 2 they are diagrammatically shown by a double circle in dotted lines.

Preferably, wheels 13 are carried by a tubular shaft 14 the rear end 12 of which is in the form of a bolt having six faces and the front end of which is actuated by the recoiling portion of the gun, with the interposition of an energy accumulator device capable of being tensioned every time a shot is fired by said recoiling portion.-

Such an arrangement is more especially illustrated by Figs. 2 and 3.

The breech-casing 2 of the gun carries a cam 15 mounted to oscillate about a pin 16 at right angles to the upper face of said breech-casing on a support 17 fixed on said upper face.

This cam 15 is arranged and disposed in such manner that when the gun is recoiling, said cam is engaged in wedge-like fashion between a fixed abutment constituted by a roller 18 and a push-piece 19 provided with a roller 20 and slidable transversely against the action of a return spring 21. Said roller 18 and said push-piece 19 are housed in the front portion of easing which, as above stated, remains stationary during the recoil movement of the gun.

Push-piece 19 carries a rack 22 adapted to mesh with a toothed sector 23 rigid with a tubular sleeve 24 which carries the driving portion 25 of a free wheel (including for instance rollers 26) the driven portion 27 of which carries teeth 28 cooperating with a pawl 29 which permits movement of said driven portion only in one direction.

This driven portion 27 of the free wheel is rigid with the. driving element 30 of a dog clutch the driven element 31 of which (applied against element 30 by an elastic device such for instance as a stack of flexible washers 32) is coupled in rotation, for instance by means of splines, with a hollow shaft 33 coaxial with tubular sleeve 24 and located on the inside thereof.

The free end of this hollow shaft 33 is coupled, for instance by means of splines, with one end of a torsion bar 34 the other end of which is similarly coupled in rotation with hollow tubular shaft 14, which carries toothed wheels 13.

Said shaft 14 is coupled with the facing end of hollow shaft 33 through a clutch 35 including straight teeth the male and female elements of which are engaged in one another with an angular play which will be hereinafter more explicitly referred to and which, in a very satisfactory embodiment of my invention, where the rotor includes ten teeth (the pitch being then equal to 36 of rotation of the rotor) is about 30.

It will be understood that, with such a mechanism, torsion bar 34 will be twisted, every time a shot is fired, by an, amount limited by said angular play, then will expend by an angle at'mo st equal to this pitch when a cartridge is introduced into the gun, which introduction permits a forward movement equal to one pitch of cartridge clip D I will now describe how the cartridges carried by clip D are stripped therefrom and fed toward the feed passage provided in"magazine carrier 7. For this purpose, according to my invention, this device for stripping the cartridges from the plates on'which they are fitted includes a plurality of fixed deflectors 36, for instance two, carried by casing 5 and arranged in such manner that their end is engaged between the supporting plate of cartridge clip D and the cartridges which are carried by said plate (see Figs. 7 and 16), whereby said deflectors strip one cartridge from the plate every time the cartridge clip is moved a distance corresponding to one pitch.

Fixed deflectors 36 are so shaped that they keep these stripped cartridges temporarily in engagement with toothed wheels 13, said stripped cartridges being thus directed by said toothed wheels toward feed passage 37 which is provided, at its lower end, with retaining projections 37a on which the first cartridge to be introduced into the gun is resting, in waiting position.

Conventional oscillating deflectors 38 (Figs. 4 to 6) for instance two in number, similar to those commonly used inknown rotor feed mechanisms, are then advantageously freely mounted on shaft 14, said oscillating deflectors being intended to push toward the projections 37a of the feed passage, under the effect of their return spring 39, and also possibly due to their being stopped against a fixed abutment b, the cartridges which must penetrate into said passage.

Advantageously, I provide at least one supplementary oscillating deflector 38a (Figs. 2 and 6) which is mounted similarly to deflectors 38 but is urged by a more powerful spring 39a and is not provided with a fixed abutment b. This deflector is brought into play when the cartridge which has just met it has already somewhat pushed back the conventional deflectors 38. The elastic braking that is thus exerted upon the cartridge by power-- ful spring 39a absorbs the inertia of the rotor-before abutments b have to act. Thus, the shock that would take place in the absence of deflector 38a when deflectors 38 come to strike abutments b and which might deteriorate the cartridge cases, is replaced by a resilient action.

I will now describe the devices according to my in vention for achieving a satisfactory displacement of the cartridge clips D D etc. through a magazine 4 once cartridge clip'D has been emptied and its plate ejected.

In order to obtain this result, I make use of a driving device including sliding systems provided with pawls and mounted on the side walls of said magazine, said systems being given a reciprocating motion.

. means operated bythe gun recoilenergy. p E u e. em g'e 2?" through magazine 4, two distinctand independent driva ing mechanisms, to wit, on theone hand a quick acting zine.

parents, .it ait t sliding systemsare actuatedfduri fi Furthermore, I provide, forffeeding mechanism capable, when'fcartridge. clip Df has been stripped of.all its cartridges, of. quickly feedingfthe next cartridge clipD into firing position, .and, on the other" uresshowing the parts in different positions" correspond ing' to successive steps of the operation of said mecha- I nisms. v t The mechanisms intended to impart a quick downward movementto cartridge clipD along the walls of magazine 4 are located respectively on the side of the points of the shells andlon the sideoffthe rear bases of the 'cartridges and they includetwd sliding membars 40 each provided with a pawl 41 arranged so as to engagea corresponding abutmentrigid with the cartridge 'clipinquestion.

The mechanism intended to achieve a slowerdisplacement of the other cartridge clipspresenb in magazine 4 is constituted providing, oneach of said walls of the magazine,t'wo rows of pawls" 42 disposed parallel to the direc'tionin which theclips are moving,the pawls of eveny mw being carried by aslidingfmember 43. Preferably, the same drivingmeans serve to move'the sliding members 40 and 43located on'the same side of magazine4. a

In viewof the fact these two mechanisms are working independently of each other, they may both be controlled imperatively,-or one of-Ithemmay be. controlled imperatively (inthis case the one acting upon cartridge .clip

D the other one. being then controlled. by resilient means previouslyplacedunder the tension, or again both of..them can be controlled by independent resilient means,

these resilient means being tensioned every time a shot isfired. a t

Lwill describe, by way of example, a construction corresponding to this last mentioned case. i I

:According to this construction the two sliding members 40 which carry the pawls 41 for actuating the cartri dge clip'D are connected together .by a lever 44 pivoted at its middle point on the rod 45 .of a guide (for instance of the typeconstituted by a piston 46 slidable in a cylinder 47) extending parallel to said sliding member-s40. v

This guide is subjected to the action of a return spring 48tending tomove rod 45 and sliding members 40 in the directionwhich feeds cartridge clip D toward its firing position. 3 t

In a likewise manner, the

sliding members 43 which carry the pawls for actuatinggthe other cartridge clips are connected together by a lever 49 pivoted at its middle point on a-rod 50 carried by a guide constituted for instance by a piston 51 slidable in thesame cylinder as piston 46. Aspring 52 cooperates with said guide to urge rod 50 and sliding members 43 in the direction corresponding-to the feed of cartridge clips D D etc., tswsrd their firing position.

The pistons slidable in cylinder 47 are moved by means of a cam 53 driven. by one end of .hollow "shaft 14 (which carries toothed wheels 13),.said cam 53preferably acting upon rod 54' through a roller 54.

I provide, oneither-side ofthe rows ofdriving pawls grams above described, twdrows of pawls mounted directly on the corresponding Walls of magazine 4, said last mentioned pawls being arranged in such manner as to pre vent any recoil movement of the cartridge clips con-g tained in magazine 4 when said clips occupy in the said magazine their firing or their waiting position.

The shape of cam 53 is determined in view of several factors and in particular of the number of teeth of wheels 13 and of the number of cartridgesincluded in every, clip, these numbers themselves determining the number (which must be an integer) of clips fired for a full revolution of the cam, and therefore for afull revo lution of the rotorif the cam turns together with said rotor. l5

,to the firing of two cartridge clips and cam 53 will include twoidentical projections at to each other, each.

serving to tension springs 48 and 52 then, once said springs havebeen placed under tension, to release rod 45 (and also rod 50 disposed in line with said rod 43) at the latest when the last cartridge of the clip that is being fired is stripped therefrom.

Thus I provide, for every projection of cam 53, a curved portion r (.see Fig. 7) followed by a substantially radial. line d intended to release. the

back by inclined line r.

On Figs. '7 to 11, I have diagrammatically shown the L most characteristic successive steps of the operation of such a system. On these figures, it is supposed that the noses of the pawls cooperate with the upper edges of the cartridge clips. It will be seen later on that, for prac- .tical' purposes, it is preferable to provide, on the front and rear faces of the clips special notches for cooperating with the pawls.

Fig. 7 corresponds to the time where cartridge clip. D is being fired and cartridge clips D D etc., con-f stitute a stack resting upon said clip D Roller 54 is close to the top of one of the portions r of cam 53;

springs 48 and 52 are compressed and the sets of pawls 41 and 42 are bearing upon the corresponding portions of clips D D etc., said pawls being ready to come into action to move said clips toward the'bottom of magazine 4. r y

Fig. 8 shows the same parts after the plate of cartridge v clip D has been ejected, Roller 54 has moved past the portion d of cam 53 and spring 48 (which has only to overcome the inertia of the moving elements it controls and that of cartridge clip D;;) has suddenly expanded,

driving sliding members 40, pawls'41 and'cartridge clip D Spring 52 (which is to overcome the inertia of all the other cartridge clips D D etc.) is beginning to expand, thus starting the movement of said clips D D etc., toward ,clip D which has already moved at a quicker speed than the other cartridge clips.

Fig. 9 corresponds to the time where sprin-g SZ is reaching the end of its expansion, clips" D D etc.,.

having then been moved forward. and constituting a stack which bears upon the cartridge clip D which is already being fired. From ths tmeon, all the fixedpawls 55 occupy a position for which they prevent rearward movement of the. clips that have already moved past them respectively.

In particular if, in this "last mentioned case, wheels 13 include ten teeth and every clip includes five c ar tridges, a full revolution of the rotor will correspond parts previously pushed It should be noted that, from the timeroller 54 has" moved. past line a to the time clips D D etc., have finished their downward movement, roller 54 must move upon a neutral portion of cam 53 (in the form of a cir-J portion separating the portions cular are c), said neutral d and r of said cam.

Fig. 10 corresponds to the time at which the second" projection of cam 53 starts acting through its portion :r so as again to compress springs 48 and 52 and thus to bring the driving pawls toward the initial positipn. from which they are ready to act upon clips DgfDji masses '7 etc, which must move down as soon as the plate of the cartridge clip D that is being fired is' ejected.

Fig. 11 shows the parts when they are coming back to respective positions illustrated by Fig. 7. The situation is then identical to that of Fig. 7, with the difference that it is now the second projection of cam 53 which is in operation, said cam having rotated through half a revolution.

It will be readily understood that such a system for actuating the cartridge clips through the magazine makes it possible to substitute nearly instantaneously a fresh cartridge clip D for the cartridge clip D which has just been fired. On the other hand, the other cartridge clips in the magazine are gradually moved toward firing position, this movement taking place at a slower rate since it may be done most during the whole time necessary for the firing of a cartridge clip, that is to say within a period which is five times longer than that necessary for substituting cartridge clip D for cartridge clip D In the preceding description it has been supposed, for the sake of clarity, that cam 53 acts directly upon the roller 54 mounted at the end of guiding rod 45.

For practical purposes it seems preferable, as shown by Fig. 12, to interpose, between cam 53 and roller 54, a multiplication device which may be constituted, for instance, by a system of two levers 56 and 57 mounted respectively on spindles 58 and 59, said levers cooperating with each other and with cam 53 through rollers 60 and 61.

In the above description I have referred exclusively to the rows of pawls located on one of the walls of magazine 4, but of course it will suffice, for controlling the rows of pawls corresponding to the opposite wall of said magazine, to duplicate the elements above described. However it is possible to make use of a single cam 53 acting upon lever 56 to actuate simultaneously not only this lever but also a second lever 56 disposed on the other side of the mechanism and connected with the first lever 56 by spindle 58, each of these levers 56 acting respectively upon a lever 57.

Fig. 13 shows magazine 4 in perspective view with parts cut away so as to show the general arrangement of the elements of the system for moving the cartridge clips through said magazine.

Figs. 14 and are side views showing, on the one hand, driving pawls 41 and 42 and also sliding members 40 and 43 which support said pawls respectively and, on the other hand, fixed pawls 35, which are directly pivoted on the wall of magazine 4.

In the construction above described the cartridges, after they have been stripped from the plates of the cartridge clips, must move, after they have left toothed wheels 13, along a path which leads them to feed passage 37. When the mechanism is for the feed of a gun in which the .first cartridge to be introduced must bear directly upon the breech-casing, I may make use of a slightly diiferent construction according to which the cartridges that are extracted from the cartridge clip that is being fired are fed directly into introduction position by the combined action of wheels 13 and deflectors 36.

Such a construction is diagrammatically illustrated by Fig. 16.

In this case, the rotor which carries wheels 13 is mounted above the orifice through which the cartridges are introduced into the gun.

I provide, to cooperate with the first cartridge to come into introduction position, deflectors 62 (urged by springs 63) arranged in 'such manner as to move said cartridge away from toothed wheels 13 when it comes above the introduction orifice and to give it a slight frontward swinging movement, whereby it instantaneously occupies a correct position on the supporting edges in contact with which it must remain pntil the breech-block introduces it into the It has been supposed in this second construction, merely by. way of example, that toothed wheels 13 have a number of teeth equal to the number of cartridges con tained in every ca'rtridge'clip, whereby cam 53 has a single portion r, and a single portion a! connected together by a neutral portion c.

It is advantageous to complete the pawl mechanism that hasjust been described by a regulating device which makes it possible to spread upon a full cycle of operation the 'work thatmust be supplied by shaft 14 to actuate said pawls through cam 53.

Preferably, such a regulating device is made in the form of a resilient energy accumulator capable first of storing up energy supplied by the rotor at a time where cam 53 is inactive, and then to give back this energy to the rotor during the active period of said cam.

I may for instances make use for this purpose of the construction illustrated by Figs. 17 and 18.

In this construction I fix on the shaft 14 of the rotor a supplementary cam 64. This cam cooperates with a push-piece 65 capable, when pushed back by said cam 64, of compressing a spring 66 housed in a guiding sleeve 67 rigid with casing 5.

Cam 64 is so shaped, in relation to the shape of cam 53, that the active portions of said cam 64 are between the active portions of said cam 53, whereby the two above mentioned cams work alternately, cam 53 in order to compress springs of the pawl mechanisms, and cam 64 to store up in spring 66 energy collected from the rotor and to give it back to said rotor in the course of the working periods of cam 53.

Thus, it will be possible, by suitably calculating the shape of cam 64, to store up and to give back energy in such manner that the torque supplied by shaft 14 remains substantially constant during one cycle, the constant value of said torque being then of course lower than the maximum value of the torque which would have to be supplied by shaft 14 if the regulating device did not exist. Experience taught that the adjunction of said regulating device makes it possible to reduce by about 30% the torsional stress to which shaft 14 is subjected.

I will now further describe the arrangement of the cartridge clips.

For this purpose I will refer to Figs. 19 and 20 which show a cartridge clip, respectively in end view and in perspective view with four out of the five cartridges thereof removed from said clip.

Every clip includes a plate 68 on which the cartridges are disposed side by side and held in a manner which will be more explicitly indicated hereinafter, said plate 68 including, on the edges thereof located opposite the ends of the cartridges, two stiffening flanges 69 at right angles to said plate.

Thus the whole is contained inside a parallelepipedon three of the faces of which are constituted by walls 68 and 69 and three other faces of which correspond to no material parts. Of course, when the clips are stacked upon one another in magazine 4, the free faces are turned downwardly whereby when the clips reach their firing position, toothed wheels 13 can come into engagement with the cartridges.

I may then constitute by mere notches 70 provided in flanges 69 the elements with which the rows of driving and holding pawls must cooperate. I then provide, near each end of each of flanges 69, two notches 7i) intended to cooperate, one A (Fig. 19) with holding pawls 55, the other B with driving pawls 41 or 42.

Advantageously, I further provide in the middle portion of every flange 69 a supplementary notch C intended to cooperate with a lateral guiding element carried by magazine 4, said guiding element being arranged in such man ner as to bear against notch C once the corresponding cartridge clip has reached its firing position at thebottom Elanges 69 can ass sse af ine-ma azine; In this wa'y,-the guiding of this clip duringits movement alongpassage 6 will be improved.

wlAdvantag'eously, the cartridgesare fixed on. plate 68 bymaking use of at least one andpreferably two rigid reckdike members 71 capable of maintaining the desired intervalbetween adjacent cartridges. 1 Furthermore, two rows of "spring strips such as 72 are; arranged so as resilientlytosurround the cartridges placed in saidracklike rows.

. Forinst ance, "the two rigidrack-li kemembers 71' may be disposed respectively opposite the middle of theflshell and the, groove serving to the extractionof the cartridge case; whereas resilient strips 72 are disposed between these two rack-like members and in the vicinity of each of them respectively.

This double fixation, both by rigid rack-like members and by} resilent strips, =is particularly advantageous in the .case of a feed mechanismsuch asthat above described, since the rigid rack like members71 transmit to the it b'ody of theclip"the*trans1atory efiortimparted to the cartridges by toothedwheelh 13.; On the. otherhand,

strips 72 hold the cartridges only resiliently in the direction at rightya ngles'f to plate 68, whereby the strippingof said cartridges byfdefl'ectors36 can take place without difliculty. 1 u

Advantageously, the plate of every clip is provlded with guidingis urf aces locatedjoppositethe. points of the of saidcarftl'idges and they. are arranged so as to. preventf during the strippingof the cartridges from strips 72, axial displacements offisaid cartridges the amplitude of fwhich might disturb said stripping operation.

pitches and of a pitch) .to extract cartridges therefroni so that the first one comes torest upon the breech-casing thrust upon the cartridge clips.

I might make use of a plane and continuous surgfa pe oppositethe points of fthe shells; butit seems preferable to make use of the arrangementhillustratedby 20 and according to which there is provided, opposit every shell point, a guiding. wall 73, for instance at right angles to the plane'of plate 68 and extending as far as ,the edge of the corresponding flange 69, everywall J H on' plateg68, for instance through then havea bentedgejwhich improves theirf-rig'idity, without any riskiof the shell points being caught by said edge during the" cartridgestripping operation. i a

to f eieilitate the downward movement ofthe first cartridge clipjwhich isto come into firingposition, it is of interest togive flanges 69 a bulging: shape towardthe outside (to eliminate risks of jamming) and to give the ends of said flanges a rounded shape (in orderto facilitate the downward movementiof the clip). u u of the feeding mecha- I will now describe the operation every cartridge clip includes five cartridges, that therotor wheels have tenteeth and that the angular plays to be referred to correspond to numerical ,values of 30 and the following description, referencewill be made particularly toFig; 21? whichlis [a diagram showing, at four times .duringthe operation of the frnechanism, the angularpositions of the clutch. teeth 35, carried respec tively by. shaft 14 (shown cross-hatched in solid lines) andgbyhollow shaft 33 (shown cross-hatched in dotted ne p a "Initially, ;the breech-block beingin barrel closing position, cam 53 and also the -rotor' are brought, by means of a spanner engaged on the nut-like end12 of shaft 14,

Einally, in order to avoid jamminginmagazine 4 and have not been moved anymore.

press down on the cartridge resting on the back of the u breech-block, it will now be necessary for the rotor unit of the gun, which causes the cartridge c1ip.D to be moved forward a distance corresponding to 3 pitches and of apitch laterally in outlet passage 6. Springs 48 and 52 are simultaneously compressed.

The breech is opened and the rotor wheels are further I rotated, by means of the same spanner, through of a pitch so as to bring the first cartridge onto edges 37a of passage 37 without being pressed downwardly by the.

other cartridges,

The magazine is then further charged with cartridge clips-D D D D stacked uponone another and which, once they have been inserted, are held by pawls 55. Springs 48 and 52 are compressed but, due to the position of cam 53, pawls 41 and 42 exert no downward When the breech-block is released, it catches the car- ,tridge which is resting in Waiting position on edges 37a v and introduces it onto the cartridge chamber, the rotor Wheels .13 remaining stationary. At this time, the next cartridge comes to rest on the back of the breech-block,

but it is not pressed thereon because the rotor wheels 13 20, permits a backward movement of 12 of part 33, i. e.' such that of the teeth ZS of the driven portion 27 of'the free wheel is stoppedby pawl 29. On Fig. 21, shaft 33 passes to position 4. Aspart 33 is connected through torsion bar 34 with shaft 14 which carries rotor wheels 13 and cam 53, the movement of rotation of part 33 causes said shaft 14 to rotate through 75 of a pitch (after nism 1 according to my invention, itbeing supposedthat which is thus partly untwisted but still remains twisted with an angle 015% of a pitch so as to be able, a short ina. well determined position (corresponding to the neutral portion ofcam 53). A first cartridge clip D 'is therr introduced into the magazine and pushed downwar'dly. The first cartridge of this clip is engaged inone r of the recesses of the rotor wheels-13. V By means of the spannenthe rotor wheels 13 iand cam 53, which is rigid therewith," are suificientlyf rotated (through about 3 which, as above stated, wheels 13 are stopped by the cartridges) and bar 34 to be twisted through an angle of /3 ofva pitch. If necessary, teeth 35 cooperate together to overcome any resistance.

Simultaneously withxrotor wheels 13, cam 53 has rotated through of a pitch and after a short portion ofthis movement, roller 54 has come beyond the. end of the portion 1 ofsaidcam. But, as clip D is still engaged 1 under the other clips, roller 54 and rod 45 cannot move down under the actionof spring 48. a

The firing of the shot has produced a recoilof' the breech-block with respect to the breech casingand, in the I course of this recoil movement, the first cartridge resting on said breech-block with a gradually increasing pressure drops ontothe edges 37a of passage 37 when the breech block retracts fromunder said cartridge. This releases rotor unit 13 which can rotate further through an angle equalto /3 of a pitch under the action of torsion bar 34 time thereafter, to impart to part 33 the above mentioned backward rotation of 12 /3 of ajpitch).

The last rotation of of a pitch of shaft 14 has caused clip D to move out from under clipD Springs 48 andw. 52 are thus released and pawls 41 and 42 can act upon the remaining cartridge clips, this action taking place as follows.

Spring 48, acting upon the cartridge clip D pushes it very quickly against the bottom of themagazine so that it is placed immediately next to the cartridge clip D which is being ejected, and that its first cartridge comes; .into engagement with-the-first freerecess inithe motor In order to come to wheels 30. From this time, on cartridge clip D is kept in position by thecorresponding fixed pawls 55.

As for the spring 52 which is a-cting upon the next cartridge clips D D etc.,it expands less rapidly, whereby, when cartridge clip D is already in position, cartridge clips D D etc., are still moving toward their new positions (as shown by Fig. 8).

When the next shot is fired, cam 53 rotates through an angle equal to one pitch but, due to the existence of neutral zone 0, roller 54 is not pushed back (Fig. 8). Thus, spring 52 has sufficient time to finish its movement and to bring clips D D etc., into position under their respective holding pawls 55.

Cam 53, during the firing of the next shots, is again displaced step by step (Figs. 9, 10 and 11) and in the course of its displacement, it gradually compresses springs 48 and 52 until a downward movement of the cartridge clips (on every cycle of five shots) again takes place.

The other phases of the operation (in particular concerning the operation of fixed deflectors 36, and also of movable deflectors 38 and 38a and also of the energy accumulator shown by Figs. 17 and 18) are believed to result sufficiently clearly from the preceding description to make further explanations unnecessary. The advantages of the mechanism also result from the preceding description.

With a system as above described, when all the cartridge clips in the magazine have been spent, with the exception of one remaining partly engaged in discharge passage 6, it may happen that the first fresh cartridge clip which is then introduced to fill up the magazine, violently strikes the partly ejected clip, and some of the cartridges of said fresh clip are torn away therefrom by said shock.

It may also happen that this fresh clip assumes an oblique position because one end thereof is stopped by the partly ejected remaining clip,

In order to avoid these, and other possible, incidents, it is preferable to make use of a device as shown by Fig. 2 bis. This device includes, rigid with one of the rotor wheels 13, a cam 75 cooperating with a cam follower constituted by a roller 76a journalled at the end of a lever 76 pivoted on a transverse spindle 78. The hub of said lever carries a projection 79. The wall 80 of the magazine casing carries, fixed thereto, a bearing 81 in which is journalled a lever 83, acted upon by projection 79. The end 83a of lever 83 forms a retractable support for the cartridges of the clips introduced into the magazine.

This device works as follows:

In the position of Fig. 8, the space under clip D is left unobstructed because lever 83 is in retracted position, i. e. it is not lifted by projection 79. When this clip D moves outwardly through the positions of Figs. 9 and 10, lever 83 still remains retracted, because roller 76a is located on one of the portions 75a of cam 76.

When clip D comes into the position of Fig. 11, lever 76 is lifted by one of the portions 75b of cam 75, and projection 79 moves lever 83 upwardly, whereby the flat end 83a of this lever comes into the magazine, in a position where it supports one end of the next clip D and prevents it from assuming an oblique position. Furthermore, this end 83a of lever 83 prevents cartridges held in said clip 1);, from being extracted by inertia therefrom.

Under the effect of cam 75, transmitted by lever 76 and projection '79, lever 83 is allowed to swing down into retracted position when clip D is ejected and clip D is to move down to the bottom of the magazine.

What I claim is:

1. An automatic gun which comprises, in combination, a support, a gun slidable longitudinally in said support for-recoil and anti-recoil displacement, a magazine fixed to said support having an inlet end and a discharge end a multiplicity of juxtaposed cartridgeclips movably guided in said magazine, each of said clips consisting of a holder-plate, transverse. to itsdirection of movement in said. magazine and a row of cartridges each detachably held by said plate, said cartridges being substantially parallel to the line of fire of said gun, discharge means carried by said. magazine for guiding every cartridge clip, asit has reached said discharge end, in a direction parallel to its own plane and substantially at right angles to said gun, a mechanism carried by said magazine discharge end for stripping from the holder plate of every clip in said discharge guiding means the cartridges thereof successively and feeding them to said gun, while simultanefl ously propelling said holder plate outwardly through said dischargev guiding means, means movably guided in said magazine for driving said cartridge clips from said inlet endofsaid magazine to said discharge end thereof, actuating means carried by said magazine consisting of a piece movable with respect to said magazine, resilient means for transmitting to said clip driving means the energy supplied by the movement of said piece with respect to said, magazine, and means interposed between said gun and said piece for moving said piece with respect to said magazine in response to recoil displacement of said gun with respect to said magazine.

2. An automatic gun according to claim 1 further including retractable holding means carried by said magazine to prevent backward movement of the cartridge clips travelling therethrough.

3. A gun according to claim 1 in which said magazine is olf-set'laterally and disposed obliquely to the vertical, the holder plates of said clips being nearly horizontal.

4. An automatic gun which comprises, in combination, a support, a gun slidable longitudinally in said support for recoil and anti-recoil displacement, a magazine fixed to said support having an inlet end and a discharge end, a multiplicity of juxtaposed cartridge clips guided in said magazine for movement from said inlet end to said discharge end where the respectve clipssuccessively occupy an active position where they can begin to supply their cartridges to said gun, each of said clips consisting of a holder-plate transverse to its direction of movement in said magazine and a row of cartridges each detachably held by said plate, said cartridges being substantially parallel to the line of fire of said gun, a discharge passage carried by said magazine for guiding every cartridge clip, as it has reached its active position, in a direction parallel to its own plane and substantially at right angles to said, gun, a mechanism carried by said magazine discharge end for stripping from the holder plate of every clip having reached said active position the cartridges thereof successively and feeding them to said gun, while simultaneously propelling said holder plate outwardly through said discharge passage, means movably guided in said magazine for driving said cartridge clips from said inlet end of said magazine to said discharge end thereof, said clip driving means including a quick acting portion for immediately bringing into active position the clip following that engaged in said discharge passage as soon as the last mentioned one is emptied, and a slower acting portion for moving the whole of the other clips toward said active position during the time the clip thus brought in active position is being stripped of its cartridges, actuating means carried by said magazine consisting of a piece movable with respect to said magazine, resilient means for transmitting to said clip driving .means the energy supplied by the movement of said piece with respect to said magazine, and means interposed between said gun and said piece for moving said piece with respect to said magazine in response to recoil displacement of said gun with respect to said magazine.

5. A gun according to claim 4 further characterized in that each of said portions of said driving means includes at least onesliding part reciprocable in said magazinein the direction of travel of said clips and at least one pawl carried by said part.

6. A gun according to claim 4 further characterized in that each of said portions of said driving means ineludes at least one sliding part'reciprocable in said magapawl carried by said part, said driving means further including a common member, connected with said resilient means foroperating the respective sliding parts of said two portions of said driving means, and elastic means interposedbetween said common member and each of said sliding parts respectively. V V

8. An automatic gun which comprises, in combination,

a support, a gun slidable longitudinally in said support for recoil and anti-recoil displacement, a magazine fixed to said support having an inlet end and a discharge end,

a multiplicity of juxtaposed cartridge clips movably guided in said magazine, each of said clips consisting of a holderplate transverse to its direction of movement in said magazine and a row of cartridges each detachably held by said plate, said cartridges beingsubstantially parallel to the line of fire of said gun, discharge means carried by said magazine for guiding every cartridge clip, as it has own plane and substantially at right angles to said gun, and a mechanism carried by said magazine discharge end for stripping from the holder plate of every clip in said discharge guiding means the cartridges thereof successively and feeding them to said gun, while simultaneously propelling said holder plate outwardly through said discharge guiding means, said mechanism being of the rotor type and including a plurality of toothed wheels engaging the cartridges of said clip located in said discharge means, means operative by the recoil energy of said gun for driving said rotor wheels, reciprocating means movably guided in said magazine for positively driving said cartridge clips step by step from said inlet end ofsaid magazine to said discharge end thereof, actuating means carried by said magazine consisting of a piece movable with respect to said magazine, resilient means for transmitting to said clip driving means the energy supplied by the movement of said piece with respect to said magazine, and means interposed between said gun and said part for moving said piece withrespect to said magazine in response to recoil displacement of i said gun with respect to said magazine. V

9. A gun according to claim 8 in which said stripping means include arcuate deflectors fixed to said magazineand located tangentially to the holder plate of the cartridge clip that is moving in said dischargemeans so as to I have their points engaged between said plate and the cartridges of said clip.

10. ,A gun according to claim 8 in which said stripping means include arcuate deflectors fixed to said magazine and located tangentially to the holder plate of the cartridge clip that is moving in said discharge means so as a the cartridges propelled by said rotor toothed wheels,

spring means for resiliently opposing the thrust of said i cartridges on said pivoting deflectors, abutments for limit- 1, ing theyielding displacements of said pivoting deflectors,

. 14 opposing the'thrust of said cartridges on said last mentioned deflector.

11. A guns according to claim 8 including, on the holder'plate of every cartridge clip, at least one fixed racklike member to keep the cartridges at suitable distances from one another and spring strips for holding said cartridges.

12. A gun according to claim 8 including, rigid with the holder plate of every cartridge clip, flanges transverse to said plate and extending along the edges thereof close to the points and the bases of the cartridges carried by said plate.

13. A gun according to claim 8 including, on the fixed to said support having an inlet end and a discharge end, a multiplicity of juxtaposed cartridge clips guided in said magazine for movement from said inlet end to a said discharge end where the respective clips successively reached said discharge end, ina direction parallel to its occupy an active position Where they can begin to supply their cartridges-to said gun, each of said clips consisting of a holder-plate transverse to its direction of movement in said magazine and a row of cartridges each detachably held by said plate, said cartridges being substantially parallel to the line of fire, of said gun, a discharge passage carried by said magazine for guiding every cartridge clip, as it has reached its active position, in a direction parallel to its own plane and substantially at right angles to said gun, a mechanism carried by said magazine discharge end for stripping from the holder plate of every clip having reached said active position the cartridges thereof successively and feeding them to said gun, while simultaneously propelling said holder plate outwardly through said discharge passage, said mechanism being of the rotor type and including aplurality of toothed wheels engaging the cartridges of said clip located in said discharge means,

of said magazine to said discharge end thereof, said clip driving means including a quick acting portion for immediately bringing into active position the cartridge clip that follows the one engaged in said discharge passage as soon as the latter is emptied and a slower acting portion 1 for moving the whole of the other clips toward said active position during the time the clip thus brought in active position is being stripped of its cartridges, each of the portions of said driving means including at least one sliding part reciprocable in said magazine in the direction of travel of said clips and at least one pawl carried by said part, a shaft journalled in said magazine, resilient means for transmitting the rotation movement of said shaft to said rotor mechanism, means interposed between said gun and said shaft for rotating said shaft in said magazine in response to recoil displacement of said gun with respect to said magazine, and a cam rotatable together with said rotor mechanism operatively connected w1th said parts of said driving mechanism.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 V and at least one other pivoting deflector disposed similarly a 924,732 Ca June 15, 1909 to thefirst mentioned one but rearwardly thereof, hav- 1,342,358 Storle June 1, 1920 ing a non-limited displacement, and s pring means stronger 1,504,393 Sutton Aug. 12, 1924 than the above mentioned spring meansfor resiliently 1,709,399 Herlach Apr. 16, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patel lt N0, 2,830,498 April 15, 1958 Bernard'Maillard It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read .as corrected below,

In the heading to the printed specification, between lines 10 and ll, insert vthe following:

- Claims priority, application Luxemburg October 30,, 1953-- Signed and sealed this 7th, day of October 1958.

( E Attest: KARL H. AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Conmissioner of Patents UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,830,498 April 15,. 1958 A Bernard 'Maillard It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered "patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

In the heading to the printed specification, between lines 10 p and 11, insert the following:

-- Claims priority, application Luxemburg October 30,. 1953-- Signed and sealed this 7th day of October 1958.

( E Attest: KARL H. AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Comnissioner of Patents 

